Thanksgiving Parade Will Likely Feature Large Balloons

A top New York Police Department official was optimistic on Wednesday that large balloons will be featured in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

“The last four years we’ve really had exceptional weather and I think tomorrow, in discussions we’ve had with the National Weather Service, I think we’ll be in good shape,” James Hall, the NYPD’s chief of patrol, said during a news conference.

PJ Smith for The Wall Street Journal

Pikachu during the 2012 parade.

In the past several days, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has said that the likes of Snoopy, Papa Smurf, and Buzz Lightyear could be grounded due to a storm with strong winds sweeping over the region.

On Wednesday Mr. Hall said he would consider not flying the balloons if there were sustained winds of 23 miles an hour and gusts of above 34 miles an hour. Based on the latest weather reports, he said “it looks very good.”

Currently the National Weather Service is predicting northwest winds from 13 miles per hour to 21 miles per hour. That’s a significant downgrade from Tuesday, when it predicted winds on Thursday of 15 to 21 miles an hour with gusts as high as 39 miles an hour.

Still, Mr. Hall said, a final decision will not be made until Thursday morning, when officials conduct a walk-through of the parade route, which is outfitted with several wind monitors. The balloons could also be flown at a lower-than-usual height.

Mr. Hall said handlers have done “a ton of training” and each balloon has an NYPD supervisor assigned to it. Each balloon is also tethered to a vehicle, said Amy Kule, executive producer of Macy’s parade.

There are about 30 to 60 handlers per balloon, depending on its size, he said. Each handler and supervisor has trained with that specific balloon.

If a balloon gets out of control, Mr. Hall said the plan is to lower it immediately and turn it down a side street — preferably toward the west side — and then deflate it. It could also be cut for a faster deflation. Handlers have practiced these techniques at training sessions in Meadowlands parking lots, he said.

Kule added that there are three to four sessions throughout the year along with “balloon training school” for handlers.

“So between Macy’s…our supervisor that’s on the balloon, and then myself, the incident commander, and my staff, we’re in very close communication,” said Mr. Hall. “If there’s something I see that I don’t like I can say lower the balloon, I can say remove the balloon.”